Dear Steemit Friends:
Today we will discover the beautiful oceans, white sandy beaches and fresh island food of the Maldives. The Maldives represents 1,192 islands spread across the Indian Ocean south of India and Sri Lanka for 35,000 square miles. This makes the Maldives one of the most spread out countries in the world. With a little over 400,000 people living in the Maldives, it is the smallest Asian country, with most of its population living in the capital city of Malé located on the traditionally named 'King's Island' in the center of the island group.
Arriving in the capital city of Malé by plane, all you can see for thousands of miles is blue ocean and white coral islands.
Most people know the Maldives for its crystal clear turquoise water and its sandy island resorts. I must say that the reputation is well earned. Arriving at the hotel where I'd be staying, Ayada Maldives Luxury Resort, I was enchanted by the location. Arriving in the capital city of Malé by plane, all you can see for thousands of miles is blue ocean and white coral islands. But that's completely different to being on one of those islands. Each resort in the Maldives has its own private island so when you arrive, you feel a beautiful solitude. There are not many places in the world where you can feel truly secluded, but in this special place you can.
Ayada Maldives Luxury Resort
The Indian Ocean that surrounds these island paradises is the third largest ocean in the world after the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. It is bordered by Asia to the North, Africa to the West, Australia to the East and the Southern Ocean to the south. It is the warmest ocean on the planet, making it ideal for a relaxing morning swim! The temperature is fairly consistent year round with the air temperatures sticking closely between 25 and thirty degrees centigrade.
Each island resort in the Maldives is different, with both size and lay out with islands ranging from 2.5km across to just 150m across. Accommodation varies from resort to resort, but the unique appeal of the Maldives for most is the ocean side villas. Through large windows you can sit and eat your breakfast while enjoying the sounds and sights of water lapping against your balcony. Walk out on to the front decking and feel the sun on your face and the breeze on your skin before slipping straight in to the water for a swim. It's very special being in a villa by the ocean.
My villa had net hammocks strung in front of the decking areas so you could relax the day away in perfect comfort, suspended over the crystal clear water. There are many different activities to do at Ayada Maldives Luxury Resort which include snorkelling, jet skiing, surfing, sailing, fishing, dolphin spotting, island hopping and many more. There's so much to do in such a small area, but with beauty of the villas location, the sea and the sand, it would be OK just to relax and unwind too!
Tourism is the largest industry in the Maldives and represents a massive 28% of the country's wealth and taxes from imports and tourism account for 90% of the government's income.
It's not surprising that the resorts offer so many different activities for visitors to enjoy. Tourism is the largest industry in the Maldives and represents a massive 28% of the country's wealth and taxes from imports and tourism account for 90% of the government's income. Figures from 2007 suggest that over 8.5 million tourists have visited the Maldives since 1972, with no signs of the industry slowing. There are now 106 island resorts in the Maldives, up from the original 2 established in 1972.
To access my villa I walked along a board walk that stretched out into the ocean on stilts. The villas each have their own private entrance off the main board walk with their own private decking area to eat, relax and enjoy the ocean views. Everything here is so relaxed with no-one rushing anywhere.
Ocean Breeze Restaurant
The Ocean Breeze Restaurant at Ayada Maldives Luxury Resort is one of seven restaurants at the hotel, offering an al fresco dining experience. With seating for 40 under the thatched roof of the central restaurant and 28 more seats out in the open air, under the clear blue skies and stars. Like much of the resort, the restaurant sits out over the water on stilts, making you feel as if you are dining in the middle of the sea. The Ocean Breeze Restaurant lives up to its name because it has open walls, allowing the cool breeze to wash over the diners as they eat their food.
Being 99% water, the Maldives unsurprisingly specialise in fresh sea food.
The kitchen is open between 12.00pm and 15.00pm for lunch and 19.00pm to 22.00pm for dinner and is open six days per week for smart casual dining. It is certainly one of the most unique restaurants on the island with a sophisticated but relaxed atmosphere for guests to enjoy. The menu centers around modern European dishes, and changes frequently to reflect the most abundant and fresh foods of the season. Being 99% water, the Maldives unsurprisingly specialise in fresh sea food, with influences from the different cultures in the surrounding oceans, such as Arabic, Indian, Sri Lanka and Asia. Of course, Ocean Breeze serves all kinds of different foods to suit all tastes!
Fresh vegetables, meats and of course sea foods were being prepared by the expert chefs, right in front of my eyes. The smell of the charcoal barbecue and grills, mixed with the smells of all of that fresh, succulent food, made my mouth water. I had to go and take a look at how my food was being prepared because you can't usually see the kitchen. This showed just how fresh the food is here in the Maldives, much of it caught straight from the Indian Ocean that very same day. The chefs were clearly experts here at the Ocean Breeze Restaurant and were proud of their work, smiling and chatting with each other and with interested guests.
Of course, as I said before, the resort caters for all tastes. Though many guests took the opportunity to sample some of the freshest sea food in the world, there were many other dishes to delight the senses, all of the highest quality. The sea food pasta here looked amazing, as good as any Italian restaurant. Apparently they make all of their own pasta fresh each day for the restaurant, so that everything is done the proper and traditional way, even though we were thousand of miles from Italy! I wanted to eat everything but there were just too many dishes to choose from. You know how I like to eat and all these different dishes really made me feel very hungry after a day by and in the sea!
Individual baked potatoes with cheese and bacon on top smelt really really good.
The vegetable dishes were some of my favourites at this restaurant, with only some subtle spicing. The restaurant prides itself on the quality of its ingredients to bring most of the flavour, and the flavour really comes through. Some times it's easy to forget how good a simple dish of mixed vegetables can taste, until they are prepared by great chefs who let the ingredients do the talking.
A boat, inside? As I explored the restaurant a little more (I couldn't help myself) as I waited for my food, I saw this old boat that looked like a small rowing boat. I knew I was being silly but I imagined this being the boat that might have caught our dinner today! Of course, it wasn't, but it did contain dinner for the day. Colourfully displayed, the fresh lobster, crab and prawns are all displayed in this really cute little boat so you can choose what you would like for dinner. That way, each guest knows they are getting the exact sea food that they asked for. Of course, even here surrounded by sea food, lobster and crab are delicacies and are highly sought after by both locals and tourists. I think they deserve pride of place in the beautiful boat display.
To add extra color (I thought) the boat was decorated with fresh fruit and vegetables and it really was lovely. I could only imagine the hard work that must go in to setting the restaurant up each day with the day's fresh catch of shell fish and all of the wonderful veggies too! Of course, all of the catch was kept cold with buckets full of ice which looked like little crystals to me!
I had never seen quite such colourful crab and lobster. They each had their own patterns and vibrant colours.
The turquoise green of the lobster made me think of the colour of the ocean. I imagined that this must be part of their camouflage, though it must be hard to hide in such crystal clear waters.
And so at the end of the night I say goodbye to you my friends, once more. Thank you for enjoying the Ocean Breeze Restaurant with me at the Ayada Maldives Luxury Resort. I still remember the smells of the hot charcoal on the barbecues as all of the wonderful dishes were prepared for the guests to eat. Sat out in the middle of the Indian Ocean, crystal clear water all around me, I enjoyed the feel of the wind on my skin and the taste of food in my mouth. Not only that, the sensations of sound as the water washed against the stilts of the white decking that I sat on was mesmerising. This is not a restaurant I will be forgetting in a hurry.
If you enjoyed my meal with me, please remember to leave a comment below, like and of course, follow me for more food and travel!
度假天堂似乎是形容马尔代夫最好的词汇，这里有着一千多个白色沙滩的海岛，就像是上帝抖落的珍珠，似乎伸手就可以触摸天堂。珍珠旁的海水就像一片片美玉，有着玉石般晶莹剔透的海水非常有层次感。在这样的旖旎美景里，就算坐在小木屋的水上吊床上，什么都不做发呆一整天，也不会觉得遗憾。
坐在海边的我面朝大海超级兴奋，闭上眼睛静静聆听海浪拍打石柱的声音，水光照耀着客厅中央地面上的透明玻璃窗，有节奏的摇摆，于是我突发奇想的下海，游到透明玻璃下，透过这块正方形的超大号玻璃，可以看到我和水中的鱼儿随着海浪有节奏的摆动，这让我突然想起了最近那首调皮的洗脑神曲《海草歌》，那一刻我真正体会到随波飘摇和浪花里舞蹈的感觉啦。不过就算贪玩，还是一定要注意安全，因为海浪有时候拍打的很强劲，为了防止不被海浪推着误撞到水上屋下面的柱子，我用了酒店提供的救生圈来保全自己的位置。
这次因为季节的缘故，正好赶上马尔代夫的雨季，虽然时有阴天，但是阴天下的海面依然很美，海天一色的光景是那么的纯净，从近处透着珊瑚礁若隐若现的浅蓝色过渡到远方深邃迷人的湛蓝，非常有层次感和韵律，这就是马尔代夫如画一般的天然美景。在领略过马尔代夫的蓝，白，绿三色之后，大家一定都会好好珍惜地球上这最后的乐园。
面对这里让人迷恋的星辰大海，享受着马尔代夫那么纯净的海水水质，我这个对美食情有独钟的人当然就在思考，生活在这样优质的环境下，这里的海鲜会有多美味呢？想想都忍不住流口水啦。怀着一颗发现美食的心，我去探索了一下海岛上的海鲜餐厅。岛上的私人管家推荐我参加晚上的烧烤之夜，位于海边的Ocean Breeze地中海餐厅，听说黄昏时分还可以在这里看到最美的日落。想到能在海边吃海鲜，真的毫无抵抗力，当然就欣然预订了海鲜烧烤之夜。马尔代夫是穆斯林国家，禁食猪肉，当然这里也是出了名盛产鱼虾蟹的天堂，喜欢吃海鲜的朋友可以好好在这里放纵一把啦。
这家餐厅坐落上海边的水上，以纯白色为主，搭配马尔代夫最有特色的茅草屋顶，很有自成一派的风格。通向餐厅的海上长廊，一侧设计着阶梯状的盆景墙，看到这些郁郁葱葱的绿色植物心情大好。到达餐厅的时候，已经将近黄昏，没想到餐厅亮起灯光的时候，就显得更加晶莹透亮了，吹着温柔的海风在餐厅坐下，目光瞬间就被餐厅中央摆放的一条木头船吸引，船里面摆满了各式各样的海鲜，因为是自助，所以可以自由挑选生鲜拿去烧烤。这艘漂亮的手工木船里面铺满了冰块，上面放着闪闪发光的螃蟹，大条的鱼还有超大的龙虾，个个都品象极好，这是要搞海鲜选美吗，感觉海鲜们一直在向我招手。
在餐厅的一侧，有半开放式的孤形服务台，厨师们在服务台里，准备着专门为客人烧烤海鲜，除了各式海鲜，当然还有玉米等蔬菜可以烧烤。所以我只需要用手指一指，烤好的龙虾带着一路的鲜香就到我碗里来了。餐厅的吊灯像星空一般把平静的夜空照亮，星星点点的特别浪漫，再加上自己沉浸在这样一个海鲜大世界里，就感觉满眼都是闪着金光的小爱心呢。
在这里除了新鲜打捞的海鲜，还有已经烹调好的自助餐，分为冷餐和热食，冷餐主要是刺身，寿司，沙拉，热食的每一个盖子掀起来都是香喷喷的，有海鲜炒面和炒饭，也有各式亚洲风格的炒菜炒肉，还有用心熬制的汤和粥以及海岛风情花样多多的饮料，饭后水果样式也是非常的多，而且超级新鲜，又香又甜。最后还有造型精致的小蛋糕，面包和零食雪糕供人挑选。仔细尝尝这家餐厅美食，发现他们烹调的方式其实非常迎合中国人的口味呢。
在海岛比较闷热的天气里，我选择了大量的冷餐，刺身寿司和沙拉是首选，吃起来口感清凉，神清气爽，在烧烤的部分更是品尝到了当地海鲜的独特魅力，各种虾和鱼肉，都能感受到舌尖上的鲜美，带着海水的气息，就像刚刚打捞上来的那么清新，不禁感慨真的是海内存珍品，天涯共美味。那金莹剔透的虾肉让我垂涎欲滴，咬一口Q弹劲道，质嫩爽口。
在这里吃到的每一种食材，都有着与生俱来的独特个性，无论色泽，口感还是味道，都是无可取代的，每一口的海鲜味，都能留给我最为独家的当地味觉印象。这家餐厅的美味海鲜为我的海岛之夜增添了更加难忘的回忆，后来因为念念不忘那里的海鲜味，我又再光顾了一次这家地中海餐厅，尝到了更多与众不同的美味海鲜，真的是太美好的美食纪念了。今天的马尔代夫美食之旅就要告于段落了，不知道你们是否看的过瘾，之后还有更多精彩的游记和美食想要和大家分享。
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